Section 17.3 : The North Wins

Section 17.3: The North Wins

Today’s Essential Question: What were the major events that led to the Union victory?

What We Already Know

Lincoln had a difficult time finding an effective general to command the Union

armies.


Most battles in the Eastern Theater had

resulted in Confederate victories.


Lee’s first invasion of the North was stopped by McClellan’s Union

forces at Antietam.

The Road to Gettysburg

Battle of Antietam (September 1862) – McClellan stopped Lee’s Northern invasion,

but failed to finish off Lee’s army, which retreated safely to Virginia.

The Road to Gettysburg

• Lincoln fired McClellan for his failure to pursue Lee after Antietam.

• He replaced him with Ambrose Burnside, but Burnside also proved to be a disappointment.

The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia (December, 1862)

Burnside’s men had to build pontoon bridges to cross the

Rappahannock River before they could attack Confederate troops in

the town.

Burnside had to send landing parties over in boats during the night to drive off sharpshooters that were

firing at the bridge builders.

The Battle of Fredericksburg

Burnside ordered sixteen separate

charges by his men to attack the Confederate troops positioned on

the high ground above the river.

The Confederates fought from trenches and a stone wall at the top of a hill overlooking the river, and

poured fire down on the advancing Union soldiers.

• The Union suffered 12,600 killed or wounded.• Lincoln replaced Burnside with General Joseph

Hooker.

The Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia (May, 1863)

With half as many men as Hooker, Lee still managed to cut the Union forces to pieces.


• As General “Stonewall” Jackson returned from a patrol on May 2, Confederate sentries thought he was a Union soldier and shot him in the left arm.

• A surgeon amputated the arm, but Jackson caught pneumonia and died a week later.


When he learned of Jackson’s wounds and amputation, Lee remarked, “He has lost his

left arm, but I have lost my right.”

Lee’s Second Invasion of the North

• Lee hoped that a Confederate victory in Union territory would fuel Northern discontent with the war and bring calls for peace.

• He also hoped a Southern victory would lead European nations to give diplomatic recognition and aid to the Confederacy.

The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3)• Lee crossed into southern Pennsylvania. He

entered Gettysburg looking for shoes for his men, but ran into Union troops.

• The fighting would rage for three days, with 90,000 Union troops commanded by General George Meade facing 75,000 Confederates led by Lee.

Gettysburg’s Unique Geographic Features

• Cemetery Ridge• Little Round Top• Devil’s Den• Seminary Ridge

July 1 – Lee’s men entered Gettysburg, but were slowed by Union cavalry.

By day’s end, Lee’s troops held the town, while Union troops were driven back to positions south of Gettysburg

on a piece of high ground called Cemetery Ridge.

July 2 – Confederates attacked Union positions and tried to flank them at Little Round Top.

Heroic efforts by Union soldiers from Maine kept Lee’s men from

gaining the advantage on Meade’s position along Cemetery Ridge.

Throughout the day, Lee’s forces poured into Gettysburg, as did Union troops

from the south.

July 3 – Pickett’s Charge

Lee ordered General

George Pickett to mount a

direct attack on the middle of

the Union line.


13,000 rebel troops charged up the ridge into heavy Union fire.

July 3 – Pickett’s ChargePickett’s men were torn to pieces by Union soldiers who chanted, “Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg !”


The Confederates retreated, but again the Union general Meade failed to pursue Lee’s army.

The Union Victory atGettysburg

• Lee’s hopes for a Confederate victory in the North were crushed.

• The North had lost 23,000 men, but over one-third of Lee’s army, 28,000 men, lay dead or wounded.

The Union Victory atGettysburg

• Lee led his army back to Virginia and never again invaded the North.

• Britain gave up all thought of supporting the South.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

34. Why the Battle of Gettysburg considered an important

turning point in the Civil War?

Choose all that are true!

34. Why the Battle of Gettysburg considered an important

turning point in the Civil War?A. It ended Lee's second invasion of the North.B. Lee lost over one-third of his army.C. The Union victory helped Lincoln win

reelection in 1864.D. It revealed Grant as a Union general who

could win tough victories.E. The defeat ended Southern hopes of

European diplomatic recognition and aid.


The Gettysburg AddressOn November

19, 1863, President

Lincoln spoke at the

dedication of a cemetery in Gettysburg for the 3,500

soldiers buried there.

The Gettysburg Address• His speech was short,

and few who heard it were impressed. Lincoln himself called it “a flat failure.”

• Even so, the Gettys–burg Address has since been recognized as one of the greatest speeches of all time.

The Gettysburg Address

• In it, Lincoln declared that the nation was founded on “the proposition that all men are created equal.”

• He ended with a plea to continue the fight for democracy so that “government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”


35. Which of Jefferson’s ‘self-evident truths’ did Lincoln mention in his

Gettysburg Address?

A. All men are created equal.B. All men are given unalienable rights

by their Creator.C. Governments are created to protect

the rights of the people.D. Life, liberty and the pursuit of

happiness are some of the people's rights.

The Fall of Vicksburg (July 4, 1863)

Vicksburg was the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River.

The city's geographical location on the high bluffs overlooking a hairpin turn in

the river made it ideal for defense.

The approach from the east was rugged and well-guarded.

The Confederates had constructed a line of defense consisting of nine major forts connected by a

continuous line of trenches and rifle pits.

The line formed a huge semicircle around Vicksburg, manned by a garrison of 30,000 men.

Grant’s Strategy

By late spring 1863, Grant had spent months unsuccessfully attacking the

city from the east.

Grant’s Strategy• Grant decided to march

the Union army down the west side of the river, and cross back over to the area south of Vicksburg.

• With grim determina–tion, Grant ordered his men to cut a road through the thick forest and swamp on the west side of the river.

Grant’s Strategy • As Grant's infantrymen slogged their way south,

the Union fleet ran by the guns at Vicksburg under the cover of darkness.

• The fleet withstood the punishing fire that poured forth from Confederate cannon with the loss of only one ship.

• By morning, the Union fleet was below Vicksburg.

In a few days, Grant used the Union ships to land 22,000 men on the east

bank of the river and began moving them north

to capture Vicksburg.

Grant’s StrategyAfter burning Mississippi’s capital city of

Jackson, Grant marched to Vicksburg and drove the Confederate army commanded by

General John C. Pemberton back into the city.

The Siege

Throughout the month of May and into June, Union soldiers slowly

extended their lines to the left and right until they encircled

Vicksburg.

• The Confederates inside Vicksburg were cut off from all supplies, but the citizens still refused to surrender.

• Disease and starvation began to spread rapidly through the city as the summer dragged on and the siege continued.

The Siege

Finally, on the morning of July 4, 1863, the Confederates surrendered, turned over their

weapons and other equipment, and were allowed to return home.

The Importance of Vicksburg

• Since New Orleans had been taken the previous spring, the Union now had total control over the Mississippi River, and the South was split in two.

• The Anaconda Plan was now almost complete.

• The tide of war turned in favor of the North.

In Grant, Lincoln found a man who was willing to fight no matter how great the odds.

Grant as Union Commander• March 1864 – Lincoln named General Grant

commander of all the Union armies.

• Grant’s plan to defeat the Confederacy – His men would pursue Lee’s army in Virginia, while Union forces under General William Tecumseh Sherman pushed through the Deep South to the Atlantic coast, then turn north and join Grant’s attack against Lee.


36. Why was Northern success in the Siege of Vicksburg important?


36. Why was Northern success in the Siege of Vicksburg important?

A. The Confederacy was cut in two.B. Grant was recognized as a general

who could win tough victories.C. The Confederacy’s Anaconda Plan

was almost complete.D. Lee finally admitted defeat and

surrendered to Grant.E. The Union gained control of the

Mississippi River.


Sherman’s Total War• September 1864 –

Sherman took Atlanta, then set out on a march to the sea, cutting a path of destruction up to 60 miles wide and 300 miles long through Georgia.

• Total war: not only against enemy troops, but against everything that supports the enemy

Sherman’s Total WarHis troops tore up rail lines,

destroyed crops, and burned and looted towns.

Despite a desperate defense led by Confederate general Joe Johnston, the city

of Atlanta finally fell to Sherman’s siege.

Sherman’s triumph in Atlanta would be especially important

for President Lincoln.


Who was William Tecumseh Sherman?

A. Confederate general B. Led troops on the

“March to the Sea”C. Replaced Grant after

VicksburgD. Captured AtlantaE. Waged total war

against civilians

Choose all that describe Sherman!

37. How did General William T. Sherman wage total war against the South during his March to the Sea?


37. How did General William T. Sherman wage total war against the South during his March to the Sea?

A. His men lived off the land, taking anything they wanted from Confederate civilians' homes.

B. He burned farms and towns, and destroyed Southern railroads wherever he went.

C. He laid siege to Petersburg, but failed to take it.D. He captured cities like Atlanta and Savannah.E. He set up new governments in defeated

Confederate cities.


Lincoln’s Re-election

• In 1864, the president was running for reelection, but many Northerners were tired of war.

• Democrats nominated George McClellan, who ran on an antiwar platform.

Lincoln’s Re-election

• Because of Sherman’s successful march through the South, Northerners could sense a Union victory could become a reality.

• Lincoln won with 55 percent of the popular vote in the November election.

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

Lincoln hoped for a speedy end to the

war, and in his speech, he spoke of

his desire for the nation to make it

easier for the South to surrender and

return to the Union.

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

“With malice towards none; with charity for all; . . . let us strive on to finish

the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; . . . to do all

which may achieve and cherish a just, and a

lasting peace.”


38. Why were Sherman’s victories important for Lincoln?

38. Why were Sherman’s victories important for Lincoln?

A. They ended Lee's second invasion of the North.

B. They ended Southern hopes of European diplomatic recognition and foreign aid.

C. They proved that Sherman was the general Lincoln needed.

D. They helped him win reelection in 1864.

39. In his Second Inaugural Address, what message did Lincoln send about

the next task facing the nation?

39. In his Second Inaugural Address, what message did Lincoln send about

the next task facing the nation?A. He called on the nation to utterly destroy

the Southern economy.B. He called on the nation to finish the war

and forgive the South for causing it.C. He called on the nation to make the

Southern states pay for their decision to secede.

D. He called on the nation to make all the sacrifices necessary to win the war.

Grant’s Virginia Campaign

Since May 1864, Grant

and his generals had been fighting

battle after battle, all the while moving south toward

Richmond.

Grant’s Virginia Campaign• In the Battle of the

Wilderness (May, 1864) Union and

Confederate forces fought in a tangle of trees and brush so

thick that they could barely see each other.

• Fire broke out during the battle, and some

of the wounded burned to death.

• Grant lost over 17,000 men, but pushed on.

Grant’s Virginia CampaignGrant’s strategy involved pressing Lee without

letting up, forcing him to use up men and supplies.

At the Battle of Cold Harbor (June, 1864), the union lost 7,000 casualties, most in the

first few minutes of battle.

Grant’s Virginia Campaign

• Grant’s forces continued to press on toward Richmond, with Lee’s troops trying to retreat as slowly as possible.

• But while Grant could always call for fresh supplies and reinforcements, every skirmish weakened Lee’s ability to continue fighting.

Petersburg (June, 1864)

• Unable to break through the rebel defenses, the Union forces dug trenches and settled in for a ten-month siege at Petersburg, outside Richmond.

• With Grant tightening his noose around Richmond, Lee pulled out eventually, and the city fell on April 3, 1865.

• Lee wanted to keep fighting, but he knew that his situation was hopeless.

• He sent a message to General Grant that he was ready to surrender.

Surrender at Appomattox

On April 9, 1865, Lee and Grant met in the small

Virginia town of Appomattox Court House to arrange the surrender.


• Grant offered generous terms of surrender. • After giving up their arms, Lee’s men could return

home with their private possessions and horses.


• Grant gave food to the Confederate soldiers.• After four long years, the Civil War was

coming to a close.



40. How did Grant force Lee to surrender?

40. How did Grant force Lee to surrender?

A. He cut off all of Lee’s possible routes of retreat from Antietam.

B. He surrounded Lee at Vicksburg.C. He relentlessly attacked Lee's forces

without letting up.D. He threatened to execute Confederate

prisoners of war.

41. How did Grant treat Confederate soldiers after the surrender at

Appomattox Court House?


41. How did Grant treat Confederate soldiers after the surrender at

Appomattox Court House?A. He held Confederate officers as prisoners

of war.B. He provided the rebel troops with food.C. He allowed Lee's men to keep their mules

and horses.D. He let the Confederate troops return to

their homes.E. He exchanged them for Union soldiers

captured by other Confederate forces.


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Section 17.3 : The North Wins